Shoe House, Golf and Wordart Freebie!

Hey Mates!

We had another beautiful day of sunshine. It's been glorious. I know you could probably care less what my weather is here but after 18 days of rain (one day the exception), it's hard for me to supress the news. If I had champagne on hand, I'd be poppin' the cork! We had a 50% chance of showers so we lucked out. And to make the best of it, we played a round of golf and took the dogs to the beach so they could run off some steam.

The golf game wasn't overly impressive although I did par one hole. That tickled me! I don't take my golf too seriously... I'm mostly out there for the scenery and to hear the birds singing. It is a pretty little course (only 9 holes). And just a half a block from our cabin here so it's easy access. I always feel bad that I didn't lug my camera along for some pretty picture-taking. I'll have to do that one of these times so you can get a feel for the beauty. The course is on the moutainside and overlooks the lake so- tres jolie!

The dogs had a blast on the beach. They run around like maniacs sniffing, chasing, tormenting whatever they can find in the weeds. The cutest thing? They are smiling the whole time. I did take my camera to the beach so I'll share those photos with you in the next few days.

We took a drive around the lake last week and I wanted to share a photo of a little house that's been tucked away in the trees for, well, for as long as I can remember. When the kids were young, it was about the only thing we could entice them with to go for a drive around the lake. "We'll show you the Shoe House!" Kids aren't much into scenery otherwise. I remember our road trip to California one summer passing through the Grand Canyon. We could not for the life of us get our two youngest out of the car to take a look because they were playing video games. It's the Grand Canyon for pete's sake! They did finally press pause, run to the edge of the lookout and take one quick peek but they weren't all that impressed. "Huh, nice." Kids! Anyway, here's the Shoe House....



Don't you just want to go in and have some milk and cookies?

So, of course, seeing the Shoe House made me think of my kids which, in turn, makes me think of home and, well, after a bit of reminiscing... waa la, the inspiration for today's wordart freebie.

Click on the title of this post to go to my 4shared file to download. PU and CU okay. No terms for use.

Happy Sails!

State Signs, Golf and PMS!

CAUTION... I think I'm PMSing so if you're faint of heart, you might want to move on. And quickly. Because I'm mad and ornery and I just don't care! Frankly, I have to guess at my condition because 12+ years ago I underwent a partial hysterectomy (sorry guys, I know you don't want to hear it). The only symptons I have to go on are- eating everything "bad" I can get my hands on (i.e., a whole tube of Girl Scout Mint Cookies, approx. 25 tootsie rolls, nacho chips with melted cheese and salsa (serves 4), and, to counter act, a half bag of baby carrots. I skipped dinner after downing 2 banana daqauiries (sp?) and feeling like I was going to burst. Had a nap instead. :)

The other sympton is my feelings towards the hubby. OMGoodness! Generally speaking, he's the love of my life. We get along great! But you push one wrong button right now (which he did) and... LOOK OUT!

We headed out in the car yesterday to go to the marina and net a sucker fish (he wanted one for bait). Sounded like a great opportunity for me to tag along and get some photos since it was a decent day. Well, on our way we cross the border of Idaho and Utah. I've been saying for a few years now that we should take some time and get those corney touristee photos of the state signs. Sounds like something fun (and cheap) to collect, right? We travel by car a lot and I thought the kids might appreciate them when we're dead and gone. So, as we approach the Utah sign, I holler, "Pull over!" Thought it was the perfect opportunity to start our collection- after all, we met and raised our kids in Utah, so appropo! :)

He happily swings right and stops but refuses to get out of the car. Now, he's usually a very accommodating, reasonable man. I never heard him utter the word "NO" (to anyone) until well past our 10th anniversary. He must have had a burr in his pants this day because he absolutely refused. He graciously said he'd take my picture but I wanted a picture of the two of us. No way! He was not in a posing mood. Uh, who is this alien who has taken over my husband's body?

After a little back and forth conversation, I (huffily) get back in the car thinking he's all sorts of unreasonable (won't mention the actual word I was thinking but it starts with an "A"... Yes, I'm a bit off-color when I'm mad.) Well, in my female mind, it wasn't just simply that he didn't want his picture taken. It was more like he just didn't want to please me in general. Never considers my wants. Never considers my desires. Obviously, doesn't love me like he used to. Life is pretty much "all about him" and as long as he can fish and golf and boat and putter, he's a happy mess and doesn't comprehend how I couldn't be as well. Maybe I don't want to go fishing- maybe I don't want to golf everyday. Never mind that I got to retire at the ripe old age of 45. Never mind that he really doesn't expect anything of me with regards to household duties. Never mind that he doesn't usually question the amount of money I spend on clothes and make-up. Honestly, I ask so very little- how hard could it be... I just wanted him to get out of the car and smile for a minute. Poor me! How do I live with someone so selfish and unreasonable. Poor me! How can I go through life living someone else's dreams. Poor me! What does life have to offer if I can't get a picture of us in front of the state sign?

To make a long story short, he happily goes about his business of catching his bait and exclaiming "Jackpot! I got one!". He allows me to hog the TV and watch Ellen and Oprah while busying himself with mowing and trimming and doing little chores around the house when he'd prefer to be watching CNN and Kramer. He happily barbeques up some dinner and proudly announces, "It's soup!". Are you seeing a pattern here? He's clueless! Doesn't even realize that I'm steamed. Has no idea that his life hangs in the balance as I contemplate my next fiendish move for revenge. He's actually trying to make light-hearted conversation all evening. Whaaa? Helloooooo, I'm unhappy! I'm wasting all this energy thinking I'm proving some huge point and he doesn't even know he's in trouble! Sound typical ladies??

So my best option (the only option really) is to drown my sorrows in a huge bowl of ice cream with carmel sauce and forget about it. Two days from now I can look forward to a game of golf, a trip to the beach, and some barbeque dinner compliments of my happy (clueless) husband. God bless him.

I'll post the pic's of the marina shots in a few days when my mood allows me to go through them. Hopefully I have a winner or two that you'll enjoy.

Happy Sails!

Big Dreams

Have you all been enjoying the beautiful weather the past several days? Wow! Lovin' it! It's cooler and breezy today but yesterday the hubs planted a bunch of posies for me in the garden. We got some new interesting plants that we haven't tried before. Can't remember the names of them but I hope they are happy in their new home and choose to flourish. :) We also got some fun favorites like hostas, rununculas and petunias. The colors are gorgeous! If they get established and do well, I'll post a picture.

After he finished up with that we decided to go golfing. This was only my second time this year and I have to say... I didn't do too bad. I'm not an avid golfer by any means. I don't go to the driving range. I only play 9 holes. I don't usually go more than twice a week and I don't seek out new and challenging courses. I've been "golfing" per se for the past 3+ years. But I still scored a 44. How about that? I was pretty pleased. I even parred a couple of holes. So maybe I have a natural knack? Nah, I'm back to the "luck" thing. But, amazingly enough, I got a hole in one last year. LOL! Totally a freak accident for sure. Here's the layout I did for that special, once in a lifetime event. (Word art by Bethany Harty.)

It was crazy. My ball hit the edge of the green and then just rolled about 12 feet straight to the hole. My eyes are so bad that it looked like it rolled off the other side to me but the Captain said, "Oh my gosh, you just got a hole in one." I didn't believe him until I saw my ball laying there in the cup. We bought rounds in the watering hole after we finished our game. Everyone was very happy for me (but probably happier about their free drink). Heehee.
I had time during American Idol last night to work on some wordart. But first, who are you voting for... Chris or Adam? I can't decide. They are both terrific and I'm sure will be big in the music industry no matter who wins. It was a fantastic season this year! Lots of winners in my book. Sorry to see it end.
Anywho- here's my freebie. Click on the title of this post to go to my account and download it. Leave me some love too, purdy please. :)

Well, thanks for climbin' aboard and catchin' the Wave today. Hope to see you again soon.

Happy Sails!

Bridging the Gap

I added this photo to my Gallery this morning and thought I'd give you a preview as well. This is the Mackinac Bridge. It connects Michigan's lower & upper peninsulas. It is also the dividing line between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It's awe inspiring to see and quite a thrill to drive over. If you haven't visited Northern Michigan, put it on your bucket list. It's really beautiful there. Lots of history, lots of lighthouses, lots of golf courses and a ferry ride to Mackinac Island is always a fun way to spend a few hours.

To see other photos from my Gallery, click on the link at the bottom of my page. Photos are available for purchase. If you're interested, please contact me for pricing.

I had a fantastic Mother's Day! I got to visit with my Mom and Dad and I saw three of my five kids (the other two I will be seeing today and tomorrow). Mom was nice enough to cook a huge feast for us (cheesecake for dessert, yum!) even though her and my Dad have been a little under the weather. She spoils us. It was great! Living out of state for the winter is hard because the family is all in N. Utah. So it's terrific when we come back to Idaho because they're all within a 2 hour drive.

It's a beautiful, warm day here today so I better get out and enjoy it.

Happy Sails!